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Leap of Faith, Part Two: Into the Light	By : laloga13 Category: Comics > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Views: 1233 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all other recognizable characters are property of Mirage Studios and not me, sadly. I'm just playing with them for a while, and am not making any money off of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Two

When they reached the lair, Raphael immediately retreated to his room without a word, leaving Leonardo and Miranda standing together in the doorway. He led her to the kitchen, where there was the most light as well as a clean flat surface, and examined her injury closely. The wound was deep, but not terribly serious, so Leo fetched the first aid kit from above the fridge.

"Doesn't look too bad," he said as he began to rummage through the kit.

"It hurts enough," she winced and turned her head. "The others are still out, I guess?"

"It seems that way. Master Splinter's probably asleep by now as well." He began to wrap a bandage around her arm. Neither spoke for a few moments, making the lair completely silent.

"What're you thinking about?"

He shrugged. "This bandage is waterproof. We learned a long time ago to stick with waterproof down here."

"Hmmm."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The phrase came out sharper than he meant it, but she didn't seem to notice.

"I can practically see the wheels turning in your head.” Her tone was gentle and slightly flirtatious, and he relaxed a bit more.

"I just hate doing this all the time,” he replied, securing the end of the bandage. “And I wish that you hadn't gotten hurt.”

She shrugged, wincing slightly as she moved her arm. “I shouldn't have come along, I guess; that's what I get for trying to tell a turtle ninja how to do his job. It's not your fault or anything. If you try to take responsibility for all of my screwups, you'll never survive.” She put a hand on his and gave him a little smile. “It really isn't your fault, Leonardo, you know that right?”

He put his own hand on hers and met her eyes, nodding slightly. Miranda studied him a moment, then shook her own head. “No, you don't. Just, trust me on this? You are not responsible for every crappy thing that happens, alright? If you believe nothing else, believe that.”

Leo's hand gave hers a firm squeeze before he cleared his throat. “Sorry about the kiss, by the way. I couldn't think of any other way to distract you, but I never meant to scare you with sudden intimacy.”

'Oh, you scared the shit out of me,” she laughed. “But it had less to do with the kiss and more to do with us jumping off of a building. But, no, you didn't offend me. It was nice, actually.” Her arm was now clean and bandaged, and she thanked him then glanced down at her clothes with distaste. "Phew. I'm pretty sure I could use a shower, and that hot tub I saw would be great on this ache in my back. Care to join me?"

It was not the last thing he'd expected her to say, but she caught him off guard nonetheless, grinning wickedly at his expression of surprise before continuing. "You know, I'm not into playing games, Leo. I think that there's definitely something between us worth exploring. Whatever it is that we have, I'm in. I'm all in." She seemed hopeful. "You?"

He exhaled deeply and nodded slowly. "I guess that makes two of us. And I'll take care of that aching back of yours, Miranda. I can think of a few pressure points that might be handy."

Minutes later they were immersed in the hot bath. Miranda, for reasons unfathomable to Leo, had brought a swimsuit along when she fled her apartment, while Leo had only to remove his pads and mask to soak his tired muscles. The bandage held, and they sat in silence for a little while, allowing knots to unravel and aches to be soothed. Finally, Leo spoke.

"I don't play those games either, Miranda. But for different reasons, I suppose. It's no secret that I don't have a lot of experience in certain matters, but tonight, when you were wounded....." He wove his fingers together and stared at his hands. "I've never felt like that, so angry and frightened all at once. I wanted to kill the men who did that to you, and when I finally saw you to safety...." He was still looking down, and so did not see the flicker of apprehension across her expression. "I've never been so relieved."

"I don't regret a moment of time we've spent together, Leo," she said quietly, moving closer to him and causing the water to spill slightly over the edge.

"I know what you mean," Leo replied. What the hell, just go for it. He reached forward to cup her cheek, and kissed her. And hallelujah, she kissed back. The kiss was sweet and soft and better than he had imagined; he hadn't really noticed earlier, he'd been so caught up in the process of escape. When they parted, his hand lingered for a moment, and she smiled at him, clearing her throat as if about to speak.

"Honeeeeeey, I'm home!" Michelangelo's voice resounded through the lair, causing Miranda to gasp in surprise before she began to giggle uncontrollably as Leo shushed her.

"Miranda?" Donatello's voice grew louder as he and Mike entered the bath chamber.

Leo briefly debated plunging underwater to conceal his presence, then cast the thought away. What am I trying to hide from? He wondered.

"Don't you guys know how to knock?" Miranda was still laughing, though she tried to sound indignant at their intrusion.

"Sorry, lovebirds. As you were," Mikey chuckled, turning his back. "Just thought you'd be interested in what we uncovered, is all."

"Just give us five..." Leo glanced at Miranda, who raised an eyebrow. "Give us ten, er, fifteen minutes, and we'll meet you in the living room. “Sorry about that,” he said to her. “As much as I love them, my brothers can be a pain sometimes.”

Miranda shook her head. “I like it. I'm an only child, so I spent a lot of time wishing I had siblings to run around with when I was younger. Especially when both of my parents were working, which was constantly; I was lonely a lot when I was a kid.” She absently traced the muscles on Leo's arms, sending chills down his spine. “I like your family, Leonardo. I like the chaos and bickering and annoyances. It's very....homey.” She chuckled at his expression. “I mean, you guys are definitely unconventional, and you certainly don't have it easy, but still....you guys have made good lives for yourselves despite it all.”

Leonardo said nothing, just wrapped her in his arms, enjoying the warmth of her skin next to his. He then cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again, hoping that he was doing it right. He thought so, because she made a small noise and pulled herself closer to him, kissing him passionately. Fireworks exploded in his brain at the sensation, all extraneous and unnecessary thought ended; his every sense was consumed with Miranda.

By the time Leonardo and Miranda joined his brothers, Donnie had already set up his laptop and was clicking away industriously while Mike and Raph were trading insults. Splinter had emerged from his quarters and stood quietly, watching his sons. His eyes met Leonardo's and softened; Leo thought that his sensei approved of, and even liked, the woman who had come so abruptly into his life. Indeed, despite the long night that they had been through, the fight to come, or the tension that presently hung in the air, Leo gave a sigh of contentment. He joined his brothers and master at the table, with Miranda on one side and Mikey on the other. Life is good.

"So what did you learn tonight, guys?" Leo asked.

Don shook his head, stared at his computer screen thoughtfully for a moment before continuing to type as he spoke. "Nothing at first. The place was dead quiet-until Mikey picked up a scent."

Mike sat a little straighter, and tossed a small gleaming object in the center of the table.

"It looks like a fraternity key chain," Miranda said, examining it closely before passing it to Leo.

"Gamma, rho, epsilon, to be precise," Donnie explained. "And, using a schematic of the area overlaid with the known locations of the Order's hangouts, the make, model and type of key that was attached to the chain, along with a probability indicator factoring in this fraternity's-"

"Get to the point, brainiac," Raph interjected.

"I think that, weird though it sounds, this fraternity makes up the core group of the Knights," Donnie said as he pulled up a map on his screen. "And, using....I think that their main HQ is right around this area. Apparently, they were formed pretty recently, about 30 years ago, by someone who chose to remain anonymous-for obvious reasons. After they started this drug-ring-slash-fraternity, they expanded the organization into the C.I.A.."

Everyone looked up in shock.

"You mean the government is part of all this?" Leo said incredulously.

Donnie laughed and shook his head. "No, sorry. I meant to say 'Cocaine Importation Agency,' it's a nickname I came across online. According to the NYPD, rumors of this group are usually false trails. Except for a few connected drug busts, robberies, etcetera, there isn't much dirt on these guys, or at least nothing concrete enough to connect them with drug trafficking. However, the word out there seems to say that the White Knights have become one of the master sources for class A drugs in the US."

"A bunch of frat boys?" Mikey chuckled. "Give me a break."

"Do not underestimate an unknown opponent, Michelangelo," Splinter said quietly. "What else did you learn tonight, my sons?"

Leo and Raph glanced awkwardly at each other before Leo nodded to his brother. Raph proceeded to give a rundown on their encounter with the Knights, retelling his experience in the Five and Dime. “Then it got kinda weird,” he said. “One of the punks mentioned some other punk named J. Sullivan, who's apparently the brains of this particular 'job', no offense, Miranda.”

She had gone very still at the mention of the Knights, and hardly seemed to hear him. Leo assumed that that the situation was getting to her, and put a comforting hand on her arm. She looked at him for a moment, and smiled sadly as Raph continued.

“I didn't have time to get anymore out of the bastards, the boys in blue were unusually on the ball tonight. Leo, what happened after you took off?”

Leonardo recounted the incident on the roof, omitting only the sudden kiss before the dramatic escape. "A retreat was definitely called for, but I didn't see any other way out than to take the plunge. Sorry again, Miranda."

She blushed, and the sight made him fell oddly pleased. "No need to apologize, Leo. You saved my life. I should thank you-I mean, again."

"We do only what must be done," Leonardo replied calmly, pushing aside his emotion. The room was silent for a moment afterward.

"So, what now, Fearless Leader?" Mikey finally asked.

Leo thought for a moment, then, to everyone's shock, let out a huge yawn. "Now we rest and regroup. Everyone's had a long night, and we could all use a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a fun one."

Splinter bade his sons and Miranda goodnight and Raph, Don, and Mike headed off to the showers; Leonardo and Miranda were left alone once more. She yawned and stretched, before rising and heading to Leo's room. When she reached the entrance she turned to face him. "You know, Leonardo, you never got to give me that back rub.”

“Well, I am a turtle of my word,” Leo grinned, rising to follow her. “Let me rectify that.”
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Leap of Faith, Part Two: Into the Light